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Thursday, April 2, 2015

Emma Higuchi didn't have to think back very far for inspiration when she trailed No. 8 seed Caroline Dolehide 6-3, 4-1. Higuchi was down 4-1 in the third set against No. 12 seed Claire Liu in Wednesday's third round of the ITF Grade 1 International Spring Championships, but had come back to win 7-5, 3-6, 6-4.

"I thought, well, you've done it once, so you can do it again," said the 17-year-old from Los Angeles, who went on to defeat Dolehide 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(4) on another breezy and cloudless day at the StubHub Center.

Higuchi had lost badly to Liu in their previous meeting last fall, and was also soundly beaten by Dolehide at the Eddie Herr, but those loses didn't discourage her.

"At Eddie Herr I lost to Caroline like 2 and 1 and I really couldn't do anything," said Higuchi, who trains at the USTA Player Development Center courts where the tournament is held. "But this time it was on hard courts, so I thought maybe this time I have a chance. I think I've improved on a couple of things since I lost to Claire."

Dolehide lost six straight games from 4-1 up in the second set, with her serve not providing any free points, and Higuchi keeping the ball deep and away from the dangerous Dolehide forehand.

Dolehide recovered in the third set, taking a 4-2 lead, but Higuchi kept getting balls back and Dolehide couldn't sustain any momentum. She was broken serving at 4-3, and Higuchi stayed ahead until the tiebreaker where again, she came from behind. Dolehide led 3-0, but Higuchi won six consecutive points, one a devastating net cord winner to make it 5-3. A perfect backhand pass gave her three match points, with Dolehide's forehand saving the first, but Higuchi hit a forehand winner of her own on the second match point to secure the win.

"I'm just really excited to play her," said Higuchi, who remembers losing to Kenin when up 4-1 in the third set many years ago. "I think it will be another really good match."

The other unseeded girl in the quarterfinals is Kelly Chen, who defeated No. 5 seed Francesca Di Lorenzo in the only other three-setter of the girls third round, 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-3.

Chen had four set points serving for the first set at 5-4, but she double faulted on three of them and made an error on the fourth.

In the first set tiebreaker, the server held only three times, but Di Lorenzo had two of those holds, enough to give her the set.

"I had played her a couple years ago, so I knew she was going to grind," said Chen, who turns 16 next month. "I was prepared this time for a long match. I got a little bit tense at the end of the tiebreaker, but the second and third sets were better. It was just all about fight. I knew she was a fighter--she's a very good player--she does not give up, so I had to fight back, get everything back. Overall, I thought I played pretty well."

Chen will play No. 4 seed Fanni Stollar of Hungary in the quarterfinals, after Stollar defeated Jade Lewis of New Zealand 6-2, 6-2.

Top seed Usue Arconada again struggled to close out an opponent, but she came away with a 7-6(0), 6-4 win over No. 16 seed Sofia Sewing. Arconada served for the first set at 5-4 and 6-5, and served for the match at 5-1 and 5-3, but didn't get to match point either time, hitting three consecutive double faults at 5-1, 15-all, and missing a forehand at 5-3, 30-40. Arconada was able to break Sewing to win it on her third match point, and will play No. 7 seed Ingrid Neel in the quarterfinals. Neel defeated lucky loser Taylor Russo 6-1, 7-5.

Five seeded boys remain in the draw, including the top two seeds, William Blumberg and Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia. Blumberg defeated unseeded Sam Riffice 6-4, 7-6(4), and Kecmanovic also had a tough straight-set victory, beating No. 13 seed Liam Caruana 6-3, 7-6(2).

McNally, last year's 16s champion, seemed in control of the match, leading 4-2 in the final set, but two backhand errors at 4-3, 30-30 put Small right back into it. Small, a 17-year-old from Indiana, held for 4-4, then broke McNally again, with McNally donating most of the points.

"I just kept fighting, I really didn't do anything that special," said Small, who has committed to Notre Dame. "He definitely tried to overplay a little bit and that's just because throughout the whole match, I made him hit another ball. I don't think I did anything that special; I think he just broke down."

McNally complained aloud that he didn't have any energy, but Small never suffered from that problem, and some of Small's celebrations were not well received by McNally. When Small closed out the match, with two McNally returns going long to end it, they met at the net and McNally vocally expressed his unhappiness with Small. The chair umpire put an end to the exchange of words, which continued as they made their way to their bags, but McNally's anger was unmistakable.

"We have a bit of a history," Small said. "We don't really like each other very much. I didn't expect it to be that violent, but we definitely don't like each other. We haven't liked each other just as tennis players. He doesn't think I hit the ball, and I think he misses too much, and he's arrogant. But I didn't think we hated each other that much. That was strange. But whatever, move on."

Small reached the semifinals in Claremont and won the doubles title, so he is not surprised by his results this week.

"I haven't played that many ITF tournaments, but I've played all these kids before and I knew I could beat them," said Small. "I had the confidence, I just needed a couple of results."

Small has not played Blumberg however.

"It'll be a fun match," Small said. "He's obviously done really well lately, but it'll be a battle. Expect another long one."

No. 4 seed Alejandro Tabilo of Canada will meet No. 5 seed Nathan Ponwith in the other top half quarterfinal, with unseeded Kalman Boyd taking on No. 16 seed Robert Levine in the other bottom half quarterfinal.

The semifinals are set in the 16s, with three seeded and one unseeded player remaining in each of the draws.